Jenn Northington joins Jeff to talk about book blurbs, book sales, and the fundamental tension of Goodreads.
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Book Riot's editorial team is writing for casual and power readers alike over at The Deep Dive! During the month of September, all new free subscribers will be entered to win Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, plus 5 mystery books from The Deep Dive. To enter, simply start a free subscription to The Deep Dive. No payment method required!
Discussed in this episode:
First Edition!
First Edition on Twitter. First Edition on Instagram. The First Edition (free) Substack.
The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
The Conundrum of Blurbs
Goodreads is Terrible for Books: Why Can’t We All Quit It?
Wait, how many copies do most books sell?
Dictionary.com adds 566 New Words for 2023 
Texas Judge Blocks Book Ban Law
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Nexuses of Attention

Book Riot - The Podcast is a weekly news and talk show about what's new, cool, and worth talking about in the world of books and reading, brought to you by the editors of BookRiot.com

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News Commentary

Rebecca and Book Riot's managing editor, Vanessa Diaz, discuss the surprising, boring origins of publishing's seasons, Ken Follett's big move, and more recent news. 
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Make this your most bookish summer yet with personalized reading recommendations from Tailored Book Recommendations! Our bibliologists (aka professional book nerds) are standing by to help you find your next favorite read. Get your recommendations via email, or opt to receive hardcovers or paperbacks delivered right to your door. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Get started today from just $18! Head to mytbr.co to subscribe.
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Discussed in this Episode:
Farewell to Alice Munro
The amazing, boring origins of publishing’s seasons 
Ken Follett moves to Hachette in one-book deal after 45 years with Penguin
Netflix execs propose Willy Wonka-inspired reality show
Print sales are down 2% over the first four months of last year; frontlist sales taking market share from backlist
The Enid Public Library bans Pride displays for the third year running
Oye by Melissa Mogollon
Magical/Realism by Vanessa Angélica Villareal
When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
Another Word for Love by Carvell Wallace
For a complete list of books discussed in this episode, visit our website.
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The Surprising Origins of Publishing's Seasons

Jeff and Rebecca review some of the most interesting and exciting book deal announcements from the last few months.
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Deals, Deals, Deals: May 2024 [teaser]

To mark the 10th anniversary of the Gone Girl movie, and the 12th anniversary of the book's original publication, we're rerunning our Adaptation Nation episode from 2022 in which Jeff O'Neal, Rebecca Schinsky, and Amanda Nelson dive into the book, the movie, and the legacy of this hugely influential work.
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Make this your most bookish summer yet with personalized reading recommendations from Tailored Book Recommendations! Our bibliologists (aka professional book nerds) are standing by to help you find your next favorite read. Get your recommendations via email, or opt to receive hardcovers or paperbacks delivered right to your door. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Get started today from just $18! Head to mytbr.co to subscribe.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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Gone Girl

Jeff and Rebecca finish off the season's recommendation requests, talk about Salman Rushdie's Knife, answer a few mailbag questions, and more.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!
Make this your most bookish summer yet with personalized reading recommendations from Tailored Book Recommendations! Our bibliologists (aka professional book nerds) are standing by to help you find your next favorite read. Get your recommendations via email, or opt to receive hardcovers or paperbacks delivered right to your door. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Get started today from just $18! Head to mytbr.co to subscribe.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Discussed in this episode:
Kelly Jensen named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker
Knife by Salman Rushdie
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
There’s Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib
North Woods by Daniel Mason
Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah
A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
Small World by Jonathan Evison
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
Real Americans by Rachel Khong
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
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The Last of the Recommendation Responses, KNIFE by Salman Rushdie, and more

Jeff and Rebecca spend a few minutes talking about yesterday's announcement of the 2024 Pulitzer prizes before getting into more book recommendations for moms, dads, grads, and others. 
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For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newsletter!
Looking for a thoughtful Mother’s Day gift? Go beyond the tried and true flowers and chocolate and give the gift of reading with Tailored Book Recommendations! Our bibliologists are standing by to help your mom find her next favorite read, delivered right to her inbox or doorstep. And with gifts starting at just $18, there’s something for any budget! Head to mytbr.co/gift to send the gift of reading to the book nerd in your life!
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Discussed in this episode:
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
S.A. Cosby
The Iceberg by Marion Coutts
What Looks Like Bravery by Laurel Braitman 
On Living by Kerry Egan
Real Self-Care by Pooja Lakshmin
The Cartographers by Peng Sheperd
The Will of the Many by James Islington
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Kazuo Ishiguro
Maggie O’Farrell
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
ZAAAADIEEEE, ZAAAADIEEEEE
Girl at War by Sara Novic
10 Must-Read Books by Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard-of-Hearing Authors
Alibis by André Aciman
A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko
NK Jemisin 
The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak
This Strange, Eventful History by Claire Messud
Victory City by Salman Rushdie
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
Stephen Graham Jones
Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
The House of Char by Scott Hawkins
The Hacienda by Isabelle Cañas
Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
Dark Academia Authors
What is Dark Academia
Recent Dark Academia Books
Birnam Wood
Peter Heller
The Overstory by Richard Powers
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close
While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Someone Like Us by Dinaw Mengestu
Company by Shannon Sanders
Eclipse Fever by Walter Abish
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Nexuses of Attention

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